Posts in Category: flight
Costa Rica! Scintillant Hummingbird
Scintillant Hummingbird: Feathers Garden, Savegre Mountain Hotel and Spa, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2023 — This is the other small hummingbird of the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica and Panama (and the higher volcanos of the Central Range in Costa Rica). The Scintillant replaces the Volcano at lower elevations, according to the guides, but I seen both up to 8000 feet. At 11,000 it is only Volcanos. I posted Volcanos from this same garden at Savegre earlier this week. The bright rufous tails and the extensive rufous vests on these makes them unmistakably Scintillant. OM System OM-1 with M. Zuiko 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Talamanca Hummer
Talamanca Hummingbird: Miriam’s Quetzals, San Geraldo de Dota, Costa Rica, December 2024 — The problem at Miriam’s is not that the Talamanca Hummingbirds are too far away…it is that they are too close. They were literally buzzing around our heads and often landed behind us under the eaves at the back of the deck. The Talamanca is among the largest hummingbirds in Central America and used to be called the Magnificent Hummingbird, before the species was split and the Central American birds were renamed after the mountain range where they dwell in Southern Costa Rica and Northern Panama. I had my OM System OM-1 on my birds-in-flight program but the 1/1600th of a second was still not fast enough to completely still the wings at this close distance. 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. -0.3 EV. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Red-tailed in flight
Red-tailed Hawk: York County, Maine, USA, March 2024 — You just never know what is in store when you go out with your camera. On a grey, overcast day, between rain storms, I decided to take a short hike along one of my favorite paths down through the marshes along our local river near the coast, and walked right up under this Red-tailed Hawk hunting the edge of the marsh. It was an unusually high tide and the rising water was moving a lot of moles, voles, and mice. The hawk was so intent about its business that it paid little attention to me, and I got to watch it as moved from perch to perch along the forest edge and took sorties out over the marsh. OM System OM-1Mkii with 100-400IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator and Apple Photos.
Costa Rica! Overhead
Scarlet and Great Green Macaws (and hybrids): Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — Of course not all the flying Macaw shots I took were at eye-level. The flock put on a good overhead show as well. Two Scarlets in the first shot, and the mixed flock in the second. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300 and 200mm equivalents. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Hybrid incoming
Hybrid Scarlet and Great Green Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — One of the results of the dominance of the male Great Green Macaw in the flock of Scarets, this hybrid bird was coming in fast and just swerved at the last moment to avoid a collision. Right place at the right time! OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 200mm equivalent. (This bird was close!) Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Florida! A Pelican Squad
American White Pelican: Blackpoint Wildlife Drive, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Titusville, Florida, USA, January 2024 — My first days at Merritt Island during the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival I saw the Pelicans in the air several times, but never found the flock at rest and feeding. Eventually they settled down near enough to Blackpoint Drive and the main refuge road so I got some photos on the water. This is from my first day, and is just one squad of a large platoon going over. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds and wildlife modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Great Green
Great Green Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — There is at least one full adult male Great Green Macaw that has attached itself to the free flying flock of Macaws at the Macaw Ranch…but his influence is all out of proportion. He appears to be the dominant male in the flock, as many of the younger birds are obvious hybrids. Again, mixed feelings. I am not sure this degree of hybridization is good for either species…and a lot of effort has gone into the attempt to restore Great Greens to their previous habitat in Costa Rica. Still, to see one in flight, coming on at eye-level was a real treat. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my custom birds-in-flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Incoming Macaw
Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2024 — More by chance than by design, the spot I chose to stand in the pasture where the Macaws fly gave me views as they passed at eye-level, but also as they circled out and up a little rise toward my vantage point…so I could photograph them as they came head-on and slightly below me. The OM-1 was simply magical when faced with the challenge. 🙂 OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Program mode with my birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomator.
Costa Rica! Air show
Scarlet Macaw: Macaw Ranch, Sarapiqui Valley, Costa Rica, December 2023 — One of the highlights of any visit to the Macaw Ranch in Costa Rica is the chance to photograph Macaws in flight as they move back and forth between two peanut feeding stations. They fly by at eye-level and no more than 30 feet away. It is a show they put on regularly for tourists and birders who visit…and apparently the peanuts are highly motivating. Again, these are free flying birds, but certainly semi-tame, well habituated to human presence…so I have mixed feelings about the whole thing…but it certainly was an opportunity for some amazing flight shots. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 300mm equivalent. Processed in Photomator.
Maine! Air show
Bald Eagles: York County, Maine, USA, February 2024 — I have seen this action in photos, and in a video or two on YouTube, but I never expected to see it through my viewfinder. I was taking photos from a great distance of this interaction between 3 immature or sub-adult Bald Eagles squabbling over a perch in the dead top of a tall pine when Eagle number 3 was doing a close pass, when Eagle number 2 suddenly flipped over in mid-air and they did the “show me your talons” thing. From the size difference in the two birds I am thinking this is a male and s female…the female below and the male above. I know it looks so unlikely that you might suspect photoshop or some kind of AI generated image…but I assure you these are real Eagles acting like real Eagles. OM Systems OM-1 with ED 100-400mm IS zoom at 800mm equivalent (cropped considerably). Program mode with my birds in flight and action modifications. Processed in Photomatic and assembled in FrameMagic.